comet

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

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Contents 1 English 1.1 Pronunciation 1.2 Etymology 1.3 Noun 1.3.1 Derived terms 1.3.2 Related terms 1.3.3 Translations

[edit] English

[edit] Pronunciation

• enPR: kŏm'ət, IPA: /ˈkɒmət/, SAMPA: /"kQm@t/
•  Audio (US)^{help, file}
• Rhymes: -ɒmɪt

[edit] Etymology

From Old French comete (French: comète), from Latin cometa, from Ancient Greek κομήτης (komētēs), “‘longhaired’”), referring to the tail of a comet, from κόμη (komē), “‘hair’”).

[edit] Noun

comet (plural comets)

1. (astronomy) A celestial body consisting mainly of ice, dust and gas in an (usually very eccentric) orbit around the Sun and having a "tail" of matter blown back from it by the solar wind as it approaches the Sun.
2. A celestial phenomenon with the appearance given by the orbiting celestial body.

[edit] Derived terms

• cometary

[edit] Related terms

• periodic comet

[edit] Translations